Irish broadcaster TV3 today announced the line up for an entertaining Autumn 2011 season at a launch event held at the Royal College of Physicians in Dublin. “Our aim is to entertain,” says Director of Programming Ben Frow.

TV3 Programming Director, Ben Frow, revealed the new schedule which is dominated by a range of Entertainment Programming. Promising a lineup that will ”challenge, surprise, inspire and bring a new dimension to the traditional”, the Autumn 2011 schedule includes 230 hours of new home-produced peak-time programming.

Speaking at the launch, Chief Executive of TV3 David McRedmond spoke of TV3’s plans to expand with a new purpose built facility in Dublin 24 to be finished in 2012. ”The infrastructure and investment will allow TV3 to reach our target to have half of our schedule be home-produced and to allow us to launch further digital channel following the success of 3e.”

While celebrating TV3’s dominant position in entertainment broadcasting and future expansion, CEO David McRedmond also commented on the ”unsustainable position” of the Irish broadcast market. ”The regulators and government must act urgently to address the systematic failure of the dual funding model of state broadcast.”

The line-up reflected audience desire for escapism, with entertainment programming at the forefront. New shows include an Irish format of legendary quiz show ‘Family Fortunes’ to be presented by Alan Hughes; a return of the second series of an Irish ‘Come Dine With Me’ with a celebrity edition and mind reader and manipulator Keith Barry in ‘Deception with Keith Barry.’

Iconic quiz show ‘Mastermind Ireland’ will return with new host, Nora Owen. Programming Director Ben Frow told IFTN that he believes ‘Mastermind’ and it’s new host will be ”extraordinary, I think she is the perfect person for the job.” Other well known Irish personalities returning to our screens in the autumn line-up include Twink playing agony aunt in the ‘Give Adele a Bell’. Saturday night entertainment continues to thrive with ‘The X Factor’ and ‘Take Me Out Ireland’ returning and the arrival of the much hyped ‘X Factor US’.

Reality programming refuses to wane with the return of a slightly altered format in ‘The Apprentice’ along with spin off’s ‘The Apprentice: You’re Fired’ with Anton Savage and ‘The Apprentice: Behind the Scenes’.

Tallaght is a new surprise feature on TV3 schedule, as cameras will follow eight of West Dublin’s girls and boys as they spend four weeks living, eating, sleeping, working and partying together in ‘Tallafornia’. New home-grown reality also comes in the form of yummy mummies in ‘Southside Housewives’ and a return of the third series of ‘Celebrity Salon’.

Drama programming in the autumn line-up boasts a variety of shows, from the hit musical high schoolers in ‘Glee’ to the return of ‘Downton Abbey’. TV3/ITV co-production mini-series ‘Titanic’ will be shown to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the ill-fated maiden voyage in 2012. Long-running soaps ‘Coronation Street’ and ‘Emmerdale’ remain staples on the drama schedule.

Sport on TV3 kicks off with UEFA Champions League coverage and TV3’s first live broadcast of the GAA All-Ireland Minor Hurling and Football Finals. The Road to Bucharest 2012 will also be shown on TV3’s digital channel 3e which will broadcast The UEFA Europa League.

Documentaries and Factual Programming waver between the political in ‘The Rise and Fall of Fianna Fail’, the emotional in ‘The Irish of 9/11’ and the light entertainment in ‘Sex Tips for Girls’ and ‘Hen Nights’. ‘Sex Season’ on TV3 will see Paul Connelly take an eye opening journey exposing Irish Sex Tourism, Ireland’s Secret Sexual habits and Irish Vice Girls. Ben Frow told IFTN that ”I think the sex documentary strand will be quite controversial but really exciting.”

View all the images from the TV3 Autumn Schedule launch in our gallery - www.tv3.ie